The Phantom Menace. England vs Brazil. The world is full of disappointing missed opportunities, and now Wario World joins them.
When first announced, it seemed a superb prospect - Wario's Game Boy hijinks given a new lease of life by the GameCube's awesome power - it couldn't possibly lose!
Or could it? This has the potential to be a genre-defining game, full of innovative ideas and original and funny status changes - like turning into a zombie, or being flattened in order to progress to different parts of a level. A strong resemblance to the Game Boy versions, in fact.
However, while the graphics are bursting with vibrant colour, and the sound is hilarious, with Wario screaming, "I'm the best!" at any time he sees fit, the gameplay just doesn't follow suit. What we are left with is a pretty but substandard platformer.
Capitalist Chaos The story begins with Wario's riches being turned into marauding monsters, leading him into a platform-filled world full of enemies in different guises. The enemies fall into one of three types. Wario can pick up and throw them, piledrive or spin them. Drooling yet? No, we didn't think so.
These Coins Lack Shine This is run-of-the-mill stuff. Where Wario could have been affected by his surroundings and interacted with them, his game is instead reduced to a poor man's platformer, with so little of the freedom and enjoyment of Mario Sunshine. The levels are samey and the gameplay repetitive.
It's not irredeemably awful by any means, but it is unremarkable enough that you run the risk of your body rejecting it and going into full shock, so surprising is it that this is a first-party Nintendo game. It's a laugh while you bounce through the first few levels, but the realisation that it's not going to get any more complex dawns all too soon and somewhat painfully.
It even features age-old platform game staples like ice- and circus-themed levels. With so much scope for original and interesting platforming to be had with a next-gen Wario game, such reliance on clichés stinks of laziness. For shame, Nintendo!
Despite the game's bad points, the sun does manage to penetrate the ominous clouds in places.
Boss fights are large-scale and colourful and we like the Mario Sunshine-style bonus 'sky' levels, where you travel across varying puzzles to reach the red diamond. Just a shame that this returns you to the lands of boredom.
The boss fights help lift the action up a notch or two
Avoid the twin fishy dragon creatures’ fiery breath
Careful not to lose your lunch in this upside-downy world
Wario probably likes the pain inflicted from these spiked mines
// Wario's Moves
Wario can perform all of his attacks straight out of the box. This would be fine if there were loads of 'em to learn but instead there is just a handful of moves, none of which is particularly spectacular.
Using combinations of button presses and stick-swivelling you can grab, spin and hurl enemies and items about the place. It's a nice idea but it feels like somebody forgot to develop it further. Boo!
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